Russell Howard announces death of son Felix and launches bereavement charity

Russell Howard pictured in 2021Comedian Russell Howard has announced that his baby son, Felix, died earlier this year.In an emotional social media post shared on Friday morning, Russell explained that he and his wife, Cerys, had suffered a devastating loss, which has now inspired them to help others in similar situations.“Earlier this year, our family changed forever when our beautiful baby boy, Felix, died shortly after birth,” Russell wrote. “During the most devastating time of our lives, the hospital staff who cared for us showed extraordinary compassion, kindness and humanity. They helped us navigate an unimaginable heartache and gave us support when we needed it most.”He explained: “We were assigned a bereavement midwife, Lauren, who had experienced a similar tragedy. After losing her own baby, Lauren retrained as a midwife so that she could help other families going through what she had been through. Her care meant more to us than we can ever put into words.“During our time in hospital, Felix was placed in a cool cot, which meant that my wife and I were able to spend precious hours with our beautiful boy. We could hold him, talk to him and tell him just how much we loved him. Those hours are among the most precious memories we have of Felix.“We were overwhelmed by the care we received, and we made a promise to each other: that we would try to help other families who find themselves facing the same devastating circumstances.”As a result, the couple have launched a charity in their late son’s memory, named The Felix Foundation, which will endeavour to help families “affected by miscarriage premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal death or related bereavement”.The Felix Foundation’s aims include “sSupporting the additional training of midwives in specialist bereavement care”, “funding resources to provide emotional support and practical assistance”, “providing or funding dedicated rooms, facilities, equipment and resources within hospitals, maternity units, neonatal units and other appropriate healthcare settings” and “raising awareness of late miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal loss and related bereavement”, as well as “the support needs of affected families”.Russell noted: “The Felix Foundation is named after our beautiful son. We miss him dearly, every single day, but we take some comfort in knowing that his name will stand for kindness, compassion and laughter, and that his legacy may help other families through the darkest moments of their lives.”View this post on InstagramIn his post, Russell announced that a charity gala in aid of The Felix Foundation would take place at London’s O2 Arena on Monday 8 February, the line-up for which currently includes John Bishop, Jimmy Carr and Aisling Bea, among others.The former Mock The Week panellist and his wife are also parents to a two-year-old son.“I’ve never been happier or more tired than I’ve felt since becoming a dad,” he told The i last year. “The other day, my son came up to me and just put his head on my inner arm and relaxed into me. It gave me this cosmic feeling of otherworldly happiness. So simple and obvious. I thought, ‘Isn’t it amazing what we human beings can do for each other’.”Help and support:Sands works to support anyone affected by the death of a baby.Tommy’s fund research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth, and provide pregnancy health information to parents.Saying Goodbye offers support for anyone who has suffered the loss of a baby during pregnancy, at birth or in infancy.

Russell Howard has opened up about the death of his newborn son for the first time (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock) Comedian Russell Howard has announced the death of his baby boy Felix. The Mock The Week star, 46, shared the devastating news in a lengthy Instagram post on Friday, in which he thanked the NHS for their care. Felix died several months ago, but Russell and his wife, Dr Cerys Morgan, did not announce they were expecting at the time and chose to grieve privately. ‘Earlier this year, our family changed forever when our beautiful baby boy, Felix, died shortly after birth,’ Russell wrote. ‘During the most devastating time of our lives, the hospital staff who cared for us showed extraordinary compassion, kindness and humanity. They helped us navigate an unimaginable heartache and gave us support when we needed it most.’ Russell, 46, went on to praise their bereavement midwife Lauren, who had experienced a similar ordeal herself and decided to retrain as a midwife to give other families the best care possible. https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc2_S1CjHrp/?img_index=1 Thanking Lauren for her support, the TV star continued: ‘Her care meant more to us than we can ever put into words. During our time in hospital, Felix was placed in a cool cot, which meant that my wife and I were able to spend precious hours with our beautiful boy. We could hold him, talk to him and tell him just how much we loved him. ‘Those hours are among the most precious memories we have of Felix.’ Russell explained how he and Cerys were ‘overwhelmed’ by the level of care they received and promised each other that they would try to help other families, in the same way midwife Lauren helped them. ‘And so, in Felix’s memory, we are establishing The Felix Foundation,’ Russell announced. ‘The foundation will aim to relieve the needs of parents, siblings and other close family members affected by miscarriage premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal death or related bereavement by: ‘Supporting the additional training of midwives in specialist bereavement care, through yearly grants to enable them to access resources such as counselling qualifications. ‘Funding resources to provide emotional support and practical assistance. Russell and his wife Dr Cerys Morgan have been dealing with their grief privately (Picture: NASH / BACKGRID) ‘Providing or funding dedicated rooms, facilities, equipment and resources within hospitals, maternity units, neonatal units and other appropriate healthcare settings, supporting the care, wellbeing and dignity of babies and their families. ‘Providing information, guidance, signposting and other resources to affected families.’ Russell will now host a charity event to raise funds for The Felix Foundation at London’s O2 Arena on February 8, 2027. It will feature an incredible line-up of famous faces, including Jimmy Carr, Greg Davies, John Bishop, Michael McIntyre, Aisling Bea and Mo Gilligan, who will entertain from the stage. ‘Every single one of these incredible performers is giving their time completely free of charge. I will never forget their generosity,’ Russell said, full of gratitude. Concluding his message, the comic said: ‘The Felix Foundation is named after our beautiful son. We miss him dearly, every single day, but we take some comfort in knowing that his name will stand for kindness, compassion and laughter, and that his legacy may help other families through the darkest moments of their lives. Russell previously described fatherhood as the ‘best thing in the world’ (Picture: Shutterstock Editorial) ‘We would love it if you came along and helped us make Felix’s legacy something truly special.’ Russell and Dr Cerys share another son who was born in May 2025. In December, Russell opened up about becoming a first-time father and how it’s changed his approach to comedy. ‘I’m surviving on three hours sleep. It makes gigs so much fun, because there’s a thrill that you could have a breakdown,’ Russell said while speaking to Chris and Rosie Ramsay on a recent episode of their Sh**ged Married Annoyed podcast. ‘I love being a parent but I’m so broken,’ he said, explaining: ‘We’ve been stand-ups forever, able to indulge and slept like teenagers until we’re 45 then suddenly we’ve got to get up at six, because someone’s going: “Daddy!”‘ Russell described being a dad to their son, whose name they have not revealed, as ‘the best thing in the world, and yet it’s tough.’ The comedian has been with Cerys, an NHS geriatric doctor, since 2004 after meeting when he was 21 and she was 17 through the sister of his friend. Fast forward to 2018 and Russell confirmed on the New Year’s Eve episode of Alan Carr’s Chatty Man that they were getting married following his proposal in Japan. The couple then tied the knot in June 2019 in an intimate ceremony with family and friends. Sands UK charity Sands supports everyone touched by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby. Sands offers many types of bereavement support, including a national helpline and a UK-wide network of local groups offering support in the community. The charity puts bereaved parents' experiences at the heart of research, to better understand why babies die and how maternity care can be improved to save lives. And Sands works to keep pregnancy and baby loss at the top of the political agenda across the UK. Please visit the Sands website for more information and contact details. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source